


Gods and Princesses

by vegalocity



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: A bit of Catradora but like not much, Also Spinnetossa is mentioned, Also a teensy bit of Doubleprime Crackship of the ages, Catra and Hordak are friends, Don't let Lore Olympus Fool you Eros was highkey one of the most powerful gods in the pantheon, F/M, Kinda?, You can't change my mind, but like Eros and Psyche bc I'm tired of every Greek Myth Au being Hades and Persephone, love potion, mythology AU, whom support eachother but will also Drag eachother constantly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25217701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vegalocity/pseuds/vegalocity
Summary: His chest ached at the idea. That he'd have to find some cruel, possibly dangerous monster for this brilliant, creative, clever girl just because of her beauty. To waste her passionate voice and curious eyes on something that couldneverappreciate her! Not likehedid-Oh...Oh no...
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 120





	Gods and Princesses

**Author's Note:**

> Probably not gonna be a full multichaptered thing, this just wouldn't leave me alone until i wrote it.

“There is a princess in Thebes.”

Hordak sat up straight—or rather, straighter—at Prime's tone. Breakfast suddenly forgotten and unimportant as the god of War turned from the window he was staring out of, he glanced at Hordak idly, as if only now noticing his presence, despite speaking directly to him. His gaze was on him for only a moment before flicking back to the window.

“The mortals consider her very beautiful.” Prime continued, idly, as though this were a type of conversation he would always have with any of his children. Hordak dared not speak lest he interrupt.

“So beautiful in fact, that the mortals have been leaving Aphrodite's temple barren in Thebes as they consider her beauty greater than that of the god of beauty themself.” Ah, so that was the issue.

Long ago his father, Horde Prime to his fellow gods, Ares to the mortals, had carried on an affair with the god of love and beauty. They'd created seven children together, the fourth of them being Hordak himself. Though their affair lasted for a few hundred years, he was hardly anything special to the god, They'd been married off at a young age, and had decided to rebel by sleeping around. And when their fellow Olympians caught on, the god chose to return to their husband and end their affairs rather than face the mockery of their contemporaries. Word was that the two were happy together now.

Most gods don't have much stock in raising children, granted how fast the majority of them grew, but his father had guarded the seven of them with the jealousy of Hades herself just at the IDEA of their other parent being particularly involved in their lives. So Hordak and his siblings lived in the estate of Ares, despite whatever patron forces had staked their claim on them.

The god of love, known to the mortals as Aphrodite, but to their fellow Olympians, Double Trouble, was the only paramour Prime had ever taken that had been offered a proper long term relationship, and they were the only one that turned it down.

Prime had called them by their title ever since.

“Aphrodite cares very little about the comings and goings of mortals.” Hordak responded. “In thirty years this princess’ beauty will have faded and their temple will be alight with prayer again.”

“It's a matter of respect! God or not, you're still very naive, child. The mortals pray to a princess over the god of beauty now, and later they may pray to a soldier over the god of war.”

 _“Or perhaps You're still hung up over Double Trouble rejecting you; and you're being weirdly protective over them because it's easier than admitting you possess emotions”_ is what he wished he had the courage to say, but all that he could settle on was a vague “I understand.”

“Do you, Child?” Prime turned to Hordak fully, making his way to the table in three strides, hand resting with false calm only inches from his arm. Hordak held back a flinch, attempted to look as though in moving out of the way he were simply reaching for his forgotten fruit bowl. He knew better than to do something as ungraceful as eat as he was being spoken to, but fiddling around with the pomegranate seeds and apple slices that remained made him feel the smallest bit better. “Do you understand the danger Mortals worshipping other mortals could lead to? They are not gods like us, and they could never be, no amount of Ambrosia or Nectar could bestow true divinity on any mortal.”

 _“Didn't Heracles become a god only recently?”_ He bit back, Bow was an exception to the rule in a lot of ways, but singling him out would still cause some troubles.

“What would you have me do?” He responded instead.

“What you were born to do, Eros.” His title sounded strange in his father's mouth and Hordak repressed a shudder. He didn't call any of them by their given names, but being called by their titles was rare as well—granted they would all interchangeably be referred to as 'child'. Prime didn't care much for considering his children outside of what they could do in relation to the world around them. Which, that would be the three eldest of his brothers Dread, Fear, and Revenge. Once he'd been created their divine affiliations started tilting away from war. Love, Pining, Desire, and Harmony.

“I see. To freeze over the hearts of whomever would worship her, chase away her suitors.” it had been awhile since he'd worked with lead, the last time he could think of being maybe... the Trojan war? Right, right, he'd used them to rouse the Greeks after the death of Achilles, Troy burned because of him.

It was the wrong answer. Prime moved his hand to grab Hordak's chin, and he froze. Prime moved with a calm that edged onto boredom.

“This is about _respect_ , child. They use this princess to disrespect a god, so disrespect must be paid in turn. Disgrace her, do not TOUCH the worshipers, they must see themselves fools. The Thebian princess is your target.” He released his grip, and Hordak tried not to appear too relieved. “Do what you were made for, and have her fall in love with something as disgusting as she is. ”

“W-What is her name?” He cursed the wobble in his voice, but he didn't miss the light smirk Prime gained upon his show of fear.

“Princess Entrapta of Thebes.” Prime answered easily. “Make haste child, before the mortals can think of a divine title for her.”

“Understood.”

“And stop playing with your food like that, it's disgusting. We're gods, child.”

* * *

Thebes had changed very little since Hordak had been there last. Every corner of the square was thriving with activity, And it took maybe less than an hour of lingering in the heart of the crowd under mortal guise, before he'd heard someone mention his assignment.

“-Oh the eldest princess is truly divine. Oldest of three, but you'd not think it looking at her! Equal to the Goddess if you ask me, but some people find her greater.” A textile merchant chatting amiably with a fisherman.

“Not very wise to take Aphrodite's name in vain like that.” The fisherman chuckled nervously, but the textile merchant waved his hand.

“Ohhh the Goddess would be flattered to be compared to such beauty! Her hair is the oddest color, like the sky before sunset, or the flowers by the orchard, and some even say it moves on her command! And her eyes they say burn like the embers of a flame! Her sisters are beautiful as well, but when placed beside the eldest they come across as plain and unremarkable!”

The fisherman seemed skeptical, and really, Hordak couldn't blame him. Unless there was a monster or god somewhere in the Thebian family line it was highly unlikely a mortal could possess such uncommon features. Even then to speak in such hyperbole, no wonder his father was worried over the spread of Thebian worship of mortals.

Prime was right, this should be taken care of in a way that would make any whom thought of this princess in such ways reconsider rather than simply ending things quietly.

He looked up from the textile he'd been falsely looking over, to claim that much like the fisherman, he was also new in town, and would like to see this princess himself. Hordak had taken the form of a generally unremarkable man in his prime of life. And the textile merchant nearly burst into laughter at his 'sudden interest'.

“Oh, I wouldn't get your hopes up, lad.” the man's long beard waggled with his words. “She's not the type of beauty that has suitors knocking down her doors. Her visage is agreed upon to be best viewed from afar.”

 _“Indeed, that's the problem”_ was what he didn't say. “I'd like to try.” was what he said instead.

The man chuckled and gave him directions—He didn't need them, even if he didn't already know where he was going, he'd know that he'd be looking for the largest estate in the city if it were to house not one but three princesses, but it was a kind gesture—toward the estate in question, and he waved at the two mortals in a way he hoped made him look as though he were in fact a nervous mortal himself, mentally preparing to woo a princess.

And not a god scoping out a target.

Once he was far enough from the mortals that he could duck behind a tree, he shed his mortal disguise, body shifting and wings unfolding from his shoulders—he was always depicted with wings in the mortals' depictions, but they tended to give him the wings of a bird, magnificent and fluffy with feathers that shined in the sunlight. They would likely have been horrified to see his true visage, all twisting blues and bone whites, eyes red as spilled blood and wings closer in appearance to a bat than a bird. Despite being a god of love, he looked the part of a god of war—quickly taking to the sky and making a path toward the estate on the highest hill.

“Hey Hordak,” He nearly fell from the sky in surprise when he heard his true name cut through the roar of the wind.

Speaking of the wind...

“Catra.” He huffed, and sure enough the wind under his left wing picked up. The West Wind stayed invisible for a moment before she materialized, zipping across the gales she called her home with an ease only an embodiment of wind itself could achieve.

“So, you interested in the hot princess too? Not surprising, I mean if you're hot enough to get your own offerings of COURSE a love god would take some interest eventually. Surprised Apollo didn't get there first actually.”

“Shouldn't you be off trying to seduce his sister?” Catra's face twisted up in rage, but Hordak could see the blush along her cheeks.

“Oh shut up! It's not my fault Adora's stubborn! And you should know better than anyone how hard it is for virgin goddesses to break their vows!”

“In fact I would. I still qualify Persephone and Hades as my greatest success of them all.” He puffed up his chest a bit in false pride, in fact he didn't have much of a hand in the formation of the most stable marriage in all of the pantheon, He'd just given Netossa the push she needed—He still found it hilarious that the mortals thought her a man simply due to her rulership of the underworld.

“Yeah yeah, rub it in why don't ya? We don't ALL have those little 'easy way out's in our arrow quivers. SOME of us need to do things the old fashioned way.”

“Well I'm hardly here for seduction purposes.” She should know by how many times they'd crossed paths on his missions that he never indulged in his own affiliations. “Ares has taken offense to the Princess'.... Popularity.”

Catra let out a laugh that probably sounded far more mean than intended. “Still doing Daddy Dearest's dirty work? When are you gonna tell that narcissist to stuff it?”

“Probably when you make the hike down to Tartarus and tell that sociopath you call 'mother' the same.” That one earned him a swat on the shoulder. Though he'd hesitate to call the two of them particularly close, Hordak could admit that he appreciated that Catra wouldn't grow offended at his wit, and would trade barbs back and forth with him during his travels, gave him an outlit for the words he'd have to bite back on Olympus.

“Jackass...”

“Don't tell the mortals, their image of me would be ruined.”

“Pretty sure they depict me as a man, so I think I should be allowed to fuck with the mortals. Ah-” And there they were “Well, I won't keep you from destroying someone's family name, tell Kadroh I said 'Hi' when you get back to Olympus!” Zephyr gave him a mock salute, her form seemingly whisked away with a gust.

Invisible to the mortals, Hordak quickly landed inside the estate's outer gates, his wings reflexively folding against his shoulders again, as despite people passing right through him without a sense that there was a god among them, the courtyard inside the estate was positively _swarming_ with people.

Almost entirely men actually, most older, though some were in their prime, and a few even younger.

He recognized one of them as a prince descendant of Perseus, but other than that they were the unobtrusive, unmemorable faces of the masses. Mortals whose names he'd only remember for a split second if they'd beseech for his help. He huffed and strode toward the inner wall, about to slip through, to gather some proper information about his assignment, before the doors of the inner walls opened. An elderly man in the garb of kings—the King of Thebes no doubt—stood with a grand gesture.

“Are any here to beseech my daughter?” a roar came out of the crowd surrounding Hordak, his ears twitched at the assault, in light pain at the noise. “The greatest Beauty in Greece awaits! Form a single file line and present any offerings at the gate!”

Okay, that was enough. He strode forward, passing through both the crowd and the king with little hardship, if this was how the princess had been treated by those around her ever since her beauty was discovered, she truly would be disgusting beneath her 'perfect' visage. Likely vain, shallow, and with an ego greater than Poseidon's sea was vast.

His father was right, no mortal deserved such devotion.

He strode through the main doors, arms folded and already wondering to himself if the Minotaur was serious about his relationship with that tree nymph or if he was in the market for a challenge, to then come face to face with a pair of very aggravated looking princesses. As it turned out some sort of Nariad had to be rather recent in the family line, as one of the two had blue hair.

They seemed to be night and day, the blue haired princesses eyes darkened and features sharpened with kohl and scowl firmly on her face, while the other princess was fiddling with the flowers strung in her own hair—an unremarkable blonde—anxious and apparently insulted.

“This is ridiculous.” The blue haired girl rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “If I have to tell another group of _worshipers_ that our _Dearest sister_ won't leave her room because she's off being a geek and forgot the outside world exists-”

“Entrapta's just late Mermista. It's fine, there must be at least three servants dragging her away from her…. 'Experiment's....already. Even though it _is_ really thoughtless of her to leave us to deal with people who are only ever here for _her_ , it's not like she's gone missing or anything.”

The blue haired princess huffed and puffed for a moment longer, before the clatter of footsteps neared the front room. Hordak glanced up, and got his first l look at the Princess he was here for.

...Well he could write down the hair rumors the textile merchant had mentioned as fact as she scurried in, supported on tendrils of lavender hair sprouting from twin tails on either side of her head. Though he couldn't see her face over what seemed to be a drama mask outfitted with glass lenses over the eyes, she did fill out her chiton well. Strong arms barely hidden by clasped sleeves and leather gloves covering her hands as she tinkered restlessly with something.

“Sorry for being late.” her voice was rocky, a bit hazy, as though she'd spent many a night screaming into the void. “I was working on a way to possibly launch arrows without the need of a drawstring, and I got a little distra-”

“No one cares, Entrapta.” The blue haired princess cut her off, The princess lowered herself from her twin tails onto the ground, Hordak was still unable to see her face, but if her stance meant anything, she was frustrated “You're lucky Dad's still warming up the crowd, and we didn't have to handle YOUR admirers for you.”

“It's just-” The blonde princess added in “We'd... Appreciate it, if you handled your own admirers. They're not exactly here to see us, right?” she laughed nervously. “And it's not like they're always coming around at weird hours, it's always noon on the end of the week, so it shouldn't be TOO difficult to remember!”

“...I guess I just lost track of time.” The princess finally settled on, before lifting her mask.

A gust of wind passed through the open window, and Hordak felt a small prick at the small of his back.

 _Oh she_ was _beautiful._

* * *

Perhaps he should have retreated then, he'd gathered information, he knew now that her sisters resented her popularity yet their father capitalized on her worshipers and their offerings, that she was admired mostly by older men, it was likely their wives, daughters, and sisters, continued to pray to Aphrodite, while the men themselves were driven by their own lust.

The Minotaur might be too easy a target on that alone. Maybe the Chrysaor, Or perhaps if he were willing to make the hike further south, he could borrow a monster from the Egyptians.

But he was hardly the type to just make a match willy nilly, he was logic minded first and foremost, he wouldn't call on anyone until he was SURE he had enough of a grips on this princess, to know what would mortify her best.

So he lingered beside the plush chair she'd sat herself upon, legs crossed and chiton barely covering herself as she was approached by man after man, each claiming to hold her as highly as any god, most going on to ask for boons. For luck in finding wives, for a bit of beauty to bestow on their daughters.

Entrapta spoke very matter of fact to all of them, reminding them that she had no magic of her own—even as her hair curled at her will and twisted a miniature pulley system this way and that, while she would clearly listen to the worshipers as they talked to her, the majority of her attention was on the pulley—and that she could only wish them luck or 'send positive prayers in their stead'. It... honestly surprised Hordak. At first he'd thought her humility false, but as the day grew on, and the Pulley system was attached to the bow of a miniature longbow not unlike his own, it became obvious that she simply didn't care for the ins and outs of being worshiped.

Though there were some odd fellows, where instead of asking for anything, simply wished to 'bask in her divine beauty' as one had called it. These people actually drew her attention. She'd actually smile at them and seem to mean it. Then she'd begin to talk, well... ramble more. About research that she'd done recently, claiming that she'd been theorizing about a better more manageable way to build walls, and a way to communicate long distances with ease.

How quickly the men that asked to bask in her beauty would believe themselves mistaken. As though Mortals developing a messenger system not unlike Hermes himself were not possibly one of the greatest theories brought to light in this century by their people. How quickly they'd attempt to leave when they realized they didn't understand what she was saying. How awkwardly they'd thank her for her time before scurrying away like rats.

How her sisters would chuckle at these men because it came as such a shock to them that she could think, and question and theorize, and do more than sit there and look pretty.

These 'worshipers' were fools to look at this princess and only see her beauty.

Before he quite realized what he was doing, he'd walked back out into the courtyard, putting himself at the end of the line, and shifting back into his mortal disguise. There were only three men in front of him now, and the king had already collected all of the 'offerings', so he barely glanced at him as Hordak waited.

“You're a new face.”

He glanced to the side.

“I've arrived recently. I come from the mountains.” It wasn’t a lie, just one very specific mountain.

“Ahhh an Arcadian? Welcome to Thebes!” The King chirped. “It seems as though you're the last of the day, let's hope my Daughter lives up to whatever rumors you've heard.”

He nodded at the king and strode through the doors.

The princess was lost in her project once more, tightening the wheel and spindle the pulley was attached to.

“What are you working on?” The Princess looked almost startled as she glanced up at him.

“Huh?”

“It looks as though you're trying to improve the pull strength of a bow, perhaps for a longer range? Or simply more power in the velocity the arrows are launched at?”

The sisters at either side of him were staring with wide eyes.

The Princess descended from her chair, her hair carrying her body higher so she was at eye level with him, quickly, seemingly reflexively, she flipped the theatre mask down over her face.

“Do you really wanna hear or are you just asking to be polite?”

For a moment, his chest fluttered. “I would love to hear your theories, Princess Entrapta.”

She flipped her mask back up then and smiled so wide at him he felt a jolt in his heart in reaction, a surge of joy at causing her such excitement.

When she began to explain her thoughts, to gush over theories, and experiments, and explorations, he found it almost impossible to focus on anything else. Not her baffled sisters sharing a look, not the distinctly mischievous chuckle on the wind, nothing but the way her slightly raspy voice would creak and crack with excitement as she explained the messenger system she'd plotted out along the major kingdoms of the archipelago. He felt he had no choice but to follow when she curled a small tendril of—soft, silky, shiny yet strong and dexterous—hair around his wrist and began to lead him to the corner of the main room where she kept the maps of her proposed messenger route.

It wasn't until a servant had called the princesses for dinner, that he realized they'd been talking the entire evening away, so as to not impose any longer—as Zues would have his wings mounted on the wall if he got caught messing up the laws of hospitality—he made his leave.

Entrapta waved him goodbye, a loud excited shout inviting him to return tomorrow morning. That they should have lunch together and talk some more. He'd accepted without a thought, heart fluttering in his chest in a way he'd never experienced, almost dizzy as she flashed him one last smile before the door shut between them.

Of course it was only then that he'd remembered why he was here in the first place. He wasn't here to make _friends_ with the princess, he was supposed to have her fall in love with a disgusting monster to return worshipers to Aphrodite's temple.

His chest ached at the idea. That he'd have to find some cruel, possibly dangerous monster for this brilliant, creative, clever girl just because of her beauty. To waste her passionate voice and curious eyes on something that could _never_ appreciate her! Not like _he_ did-

Oh...

_Oh no..._

* * *

“Don't ever say I never did nothing for ya.” Catra mumbled to herself, downwind of the horrified god and out of earshot. “I coulda' used that arrow to get Adora to elope with me, so you'd BETTER appreciate me at the end of all this.” It was almost laughably easy to shake the golden arrow loose from Hordak's quiver on the way to the estate. And sure, it HAD been her plan at first to use it for her own ends...

But... ugh... His father was SUCH an asshole. And he needed a push to finally stand up to the bastard. Besides, she knew the arrows weren't a 'forever' thing, he'd explained them to her during... What was it, that Orpheus kid? It bought maybe three days worth of infatuation, and if the person didn't start developing feelings on their own it would fade as the sun rose on the fourth day.

Maybe that's why she'd rather not chance it on Adora....

But whatever, this wasn't about her anyway. It was about her friend finally finding love and maybe gaining a little self actualization in the process. It was absolutely ridiculous that a god of love would refuse it for himself for so long just because his crap dad made him feel like he should have been born a war god.

Besides, she'd checked out the Princess in question awhile beforehand; the two fucking nerds were meant for each other, there'd DEFINITELY be something there after they got talking for a few more days. And if that Bow kid could shed his mortality and ascend to Olympus, gain the title of Heracles, AND be promised to the Goddess of Youth as a trophy husband, then she didn't know why this girl couldn't beat the odds either. Honestly if Hordak simply explained the situation to Zeus, the king of them all would probably find this whole thing so romantic the princess would immediately gain a divine title and join them on Olympus.

Oh the sallow color Prime's already pale face would turn at the realization that not only one of his kids, but one of his _love god_ kids pulled a fast one over him like that would be worth the entire event.

Oh she should tell Double Trouble, they always love hearing the drama their estranged kids get up to.

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo first Entrapdak fic, Not entirely sure if i have my Hordak Voice down just yet, and an Au might not have been the best place to start that, but sometimes ya just gotta


End file.
